2015–16 Akron Zips men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Akron Zips men's basketball team represented the University of Akron during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Zips, led by 12th year head coach Keith Dambrot, played their home games at the James A. Rhodes Arena as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. Akron finished the season 26–9, 13–5 record in conference, winning the East Division title as well as the overall regular season MAC championship. The Zips advanced to the championship of the MAC Tournament where they lost to Buffalo. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference title, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost to Ohio State in the first round.

2015–16 Akron Zips men's basketball
South Point Holiday Hoops Classic champions MAC East Division Champions MAC Regular Season Champions
NIT, First round
Conference	Mid-American Conference
	East Division
2015–16 record	26–9 (13–5 MAC)
Head coach	Keith Dambrot (12th season)
Assistant coach	Rick McFadden Charles Thomas Terry Weigand
Home arena	James A. Rhodes Arena

2015–16 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
Akron	13	–	5		.722			26	–	9		.743
Ohio	11	–	7		.611			23	–	12		.657
Kent State	10	–	8		.556			19	–	13		.594
Buffalo †	10	–	8		.556			20	–	15		.571
Miami (OH)	6	–	12		.333			13	–	20		.394
Bowling Green	5	–	13		.278			16	–	18		.471
West
Ball State	10	–	8		.556			21	–	14		.600
Central Michigan	10	–	8		.556			17	–	16		.515
Northern Illinois	9	–	9		.500			21	–	13		.618
Eastern Michigan	9	–	9		.500			18	–	15		.545
Toledo	8	–	10		.444			17	–	15		.531
Western Michigan	7	–	11		.389			13	–	19		.406
† 2016 MAC Tournament winner

Previous season

The Zips finished the 2014–15 season with a 21–14 record, 9–9 in MAC play to finish in fourth place in the East Division. They advanced to the semifinals of the MAC Tournament where they lost to Buffalo.

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Demetrius Treadwell	1	F	6'7"	236	Senior	Euclid, OH	Graduated
Nyles Evans	3	G	5'11"	160	Senior	North Canton, OH	Graduated
Deji Ibitayo	4	G	6'4"	200	Senior	Chicago, IL	Graduated
B. J. Gladden	5	G/F	6'6"	214	Sophomore	Charlotte, NC	Transferred to Eastern Florida State College

Incoming Transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Craig Eubanks		G	6'4"	190	Junior	Cleveland, OH	Junior college transferred from Missouri State University–West Plains.

Recruiting class of 2015

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Josh Williams SG	Akron, OH	St. Vincent-St. Mary High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Aug 7, 2013
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 77
Peter Agba PF	Greensboro, NC	Greensboro Day School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	N/A	Sep 22, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Emmanuel Olojakpoke PF	Houston, TX	Cypress Springs High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	190 lb (86 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Daniel Utomi PF	Houston, TX	Westside High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	N/A	Apr 9, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 18, 2015.

Recruiting class of 2016

US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Isaiah Williams SF	Dayton, OH	Stivers School for the Arts	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Mar 1, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Tavian Dunn-Martin PG	Huntington, WV	Huntington High School	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	Aug 4, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 18, 2015.

Roster

2015–16 Akron Zips men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Jimond Ivey 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Glenville HS/Ginn Academy Cleveland, OH G 1 Josh Williams 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr St. Vincent-St. Mary High School HS Akron, OH F 2 Kwan Cheatham 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr Winton Woods HS Cincinnati, OH G/F 3 Daniel Utomi 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Westside HS Houston, TX G 11 Aaron Jackson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS So Lincoln HS Gahanna, OH G 14 Noah Robotham 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Bishop Gorman Las Vegas, NV G/F 15 Jake Kretzer 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 216 lb (98 kg) Sr Waverly HS Bainbridge, OH F 21 Reggie McAdams 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Sr Elida HS Elida, OH F 22 Emmanuel Olojakpoke 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Cypress Springs HS Houston, TX C 23 Isaiah Johnson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 295 lb (134 kg) Jr Walnut Hills HS Cincinnati, OH C 34 Pat Forsythe 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) RS Sr Brunswick HS West Virginia Brunswick, OH F 42 Peter Agba 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Greensboro Day School Greensboro, NC G 55 Antino Jackson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) So Cypress Springs HS Houston, TX	Head coach Keith Dambrot (Akron) Assistant coach(es) Rick McFadden (Akron) Charles Thomas (Eastern Michigan) Terry Weigand (Ashland) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Source:

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
11/05/2015* 7:00 pm		Malone	W 113–69		James A. Rhodes Arena (3,088) Akron, OH
Non-conference games
11/14/2015* 9:00 pm		vs. Cleveland State Coaches vs. Cancer Tip-Off	W 65–53	1–0	MAC Center (5,471) Kent, OH
11/16/2015* 7:00 pm		Hiram	W 100–30	2–0	James A. Rhodes Arena (2,638) Akron, OH
11/18/2015* 8:00 pm, SECN		at Arkansas NIT Season Tip-Off	W 88–80	3–0	Bud Walton Arena (14,041) Fayetteville, AR
11/22/2015* 4:30 pm, FS1		at No. 11 Villanova NIT Season Tip-Off	L 56–75	3–1	The Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, PA
11/24/2015* 8:00 pm, ESPN3		at Green Bay NIT Season Tip-Off	L 63–66	3–2	Resch Center (2,230) Green Bay, WI
11/27/2015* 7:00 pm		Charleston Southern NIT Season Tip-Off	W 82–58	4–2	James A. Rhodes Arena (2,469) Akron, OH
12/02/2015* 8:00 pm		Coppin State	W 77–71	5–2	James A. Rhodes Arena (2,903) Akron, OH
12/04/2015* 7:00 pm		at Marshall	W 75–65	6–2	Cam Henderson Center (4,631) Huntington, WV
12/12/2015* 7:00 pm		Bethune-Cookman	W 81–60	7–2	James A. Rhodes Arena (2,828) Akron, OH
12/21/2015* 3:00 pm		vs. UC Santa Barbara South Point Holiday Hoops Classic	W 84–70	8–2	South Point Arena (250) Enterprise, NV
12/23/2015* 3:00 pm		vs. Iona South Point Holiday Hoops Classic	W 78–64	9–2	South Point Arena (225) Enterprise, NV
12/30/2015* 7:00 pm		South Carolina State	W 78–68	10–2	James A. Rhodes Arena (2,741) Akron, OH
01/02/2016* 7:00 pm		Lipscomb	W 80–73	11–2	James A. Rhodes Arena (3,652) Akron, OH
MAC regular season
01/05/2016 7:00 pm, ASN		at Buffalo	W 75–71	12–2 (1–0)	Alumni Arena (2,226) Amherst, NY
01/08/2016 7:00 pm, ESPNU		Western Michigan	W 62–53	13–2 (2–0)	James A. Rhodes Arena (2,642) Akron, OH
01/12/2016 7:00 pm		at Central Michigan	L 81–92	13–3 (2–1)	McGuirk Arena (2,260) Mount Pleasant, MI
01/15/2016 7:00 pm, CBSSN		at Toledo	L 64–78	13–4 (2–2)	Savage Arena (5,130) Toledo, OH
01/19/2016 7:00 pm		Eastern Michigan	W 92–88	14–4 (3–2)	James A. Rhodes Arena (2,839) Akron, OH
01/23/2016 7:00 pm		Miami (OH)	W 75–46	15–4 (4–2)	James A. Rhodes Arena (3,686) Akron, OH
01/26/2016 7:00 pm		Northern Illinois	W 76–66	16–4 (5–2)	James A. Rhodes Arena (3,205) Akron, OH
01/30/2016 1:00 pm		at Ball State	W 73–64	17–6 (6–2)	John E. Worthen Arena (3,021) Muncie, IN
02/02/2016 7:00 pm, TWCSC		at Ohio	W 80–68	18–4 (7–2)	Convocation Center (6,403) Athens, OH
02/06/2016		Central Michigan	W 92–87	19–4 (8–2)	James A. Rhodes Arena (3,829) Akron, OH
02/09/2016 7:00 pm		at Bowling Green	W 83–68	20–4 (8–2)	Stroh Center (1,554) Bowling Green, OH
02/13/2016 4:45 pm, ESPN3		at Northern Illinois	L 79–80	20–5 (9–3)	Convocation Center (3,457) DeKalb, IL
02/16/2016 7:00 pm		Buffalo	W 80–70	21–5 (10–3)	James A. Rhodes Arena (3,069) Akron, OH
02/19/2016 6:00 pm, ESPNU		at Kent State Wagon Wheel Challenge	L 76–85	21–6 (10–4)	MAC Center (6,327) Kent, OH
02/23/2016 7:00 pm, ASN		at Miami (OH)	L 64–77	21–7 (10–5)	Millett Hall (1,371) Oxford, OH
02/25/2016		Bowling Green	W 78–54	22–7 (11–5)	James A. Rhodes Arena (4,284) Akron, OH
03/01/2016 8:00 pm, ASN		Ohio	W 91–76	23–7 (12–5)	James A. Rhodes Arena (4,192) Akron, OH
03/04/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN2		Kent State	W 74–60	24–7 (13–5)	James A. Rhodes Arena (5,301) Akron, OH
MAC Tournament
03/10/2016 12:00 pm, TWCSC/ESPN3		vs. Eastern Michigan Quarterfinals	W 65–63	25–7	Quicken Loans Arena (2,217) Cleveland, OH
03/11/2016 9:00 pm, TWCSC/ESPN3		vs. Bowling Green Semifinals	W 80–66	26–7	Quicken Loans Arena (6,427) Cleveland, OH
03/12/2016 7:30 pm, ESPN2		vs. Buffalo Championship game	L 61–64	26–8	Quicken Loans Arena (6,719) Cleveland, OH
NIT
03/15/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN	(6)	at (3) Ohio State First round – Monmouth Bracket	L 63–72 ^OT	26–9	Value City Arena (4,698) Columbus, OH
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

References